Ice Age: Tale of Man
by GirlWithNoLife
Summary: What if the trio didn't manage to return Pinky to his family? What dramatic change would this have on not only his life, but the lives of those around him? ON HOLD for now
1. Countdown to the Meltdown

Ice Age: Tale of Man

Summary: What if the trio didn't manage to return Pinky to his family? What dramatic change would this have on not only his life, but the lives of those around him?

Disclaimer: Ice Age belongs to Fox, I own nothing currently.

)(*)(

"Hurry up, Sid!" Manny called behind him.

"I'm coming!" Sid called as he closely followed his friend. He wasn't very enthusiastic though. It had been a horrible day for him. First he loses a friend, now he was going to lose his baby! Okay, so it wasn't exactly _his_ baby, but he felt like it was his. In the past few days, he had fed him, changed him, cared for him... It was just so hard to say goodbye.

His thoughts were cut off when he crashed into Manny who had suddenly stopped.

"Ow! Hey what gives?" He glanced up at Manny and noticed that he looked almost panicked.

"No, no, no!" He heard him mutter.

"What's up?" Sid looked up and noticed that while they were at Glacier's Pass, they were no humans to be seen. Not only that, but the pass was blocked with snow. "Hey… Where are the humans?"

"Obviously not here, Sid!" Manny snapped back. Sid could hear a mixture of annoyance and panic in his voice and for once he knew why. They' come all this way, lost a good friend and for what?

"Well, they can't be too far!" he said. He waddled up to the snow covered pass and started to dig as he yelled, "Hey! Hey come back! We got your baby! Hey!" But no one replied. Not that they could, after all humans couldn't talk. After his throat started to hurt, Sid stopped digging and turned back to Manny. Manny was frowning as he held Pinky close. Pinky looked between Manny and Sid, confused. He didn't seem to understand that he would never see his family again. Sid tried to fake a smile for him, but failed.

_They_ had failed.

Not only had they failed Pinky, but Diego, who had given his life so Pinky could be reunited with his family. They had failed both of them. Sid looked up at Manny.

"What now?" he asked him. Manny didn't reply. He just set Pinky down as he closed his eyes in sadness. Pinky stared up at them, not understanding what was going on.

Suddenly Pinky laughed happily and began to play peekaboo the way Diego had taught him. Thinking he wanted to play, Sid finally forced a smile as he bent down.

"That's right," he said, the sadness almost tearing at his voice. "Where's the baby?"

"The question is, '_why_ is the baby still _here_?'" a familiar voice said from behind him. Sid and Manny turned and their faces lit with happiness when they saw their feline friend.

"Diego!" Sid exclaimed as his whole demeanor brighten. "You're okay!"

"Nine lives, baby!" Diego smirked. Sid ran forward and tackled him in a hug. He even gave him a noogie and a friendly slug. "Oh! You're okay! You're okay! I could kiss you!" He did so and spat some fur that got in his mouth.

Sid and Diego ruffed around until Pinky managed to waddle up to them and hugged Diego, eyes shining with happiness. Diego looked at him, and then shared a look with Manny, who looked away.

"We missed them." He said, answering the unasked question. Diego turned back to Pinky, looking thoughtful.

"The cave," He looked away, looking as if it was his entire fault. "It must have put us a day behind." He looked at Pinky and caught him just as he fell back.

"What's done is done." Manny told him, sympathetically. Sid bent down and picked up the baby.

"Maybe we can track them." He said hopefully.

"In case you missed it, the path is snowed in." Diego told him, scoffing as he did. "And even if we could go around, there's no scent or trail. We'd just be wondering around in circles." Pinky let out a slight cry. Seems it was someone's nap time. Sid let Manny take the baby and rock him in his trunk.

"What now?" he muttered as the child began to fall asleep.

*8*

Three months later, Pinky played in the snow as he watched Sid try and control the other children. Sid seemed to be having a lot of fun in his opinion. Pinky wished he could say the same, but because of his age, no one wanted to play with him. That and the fact that was… "not like them" as one said. Pinky didn't really understand that though, nor did he think about it too long.

He tried to entertain himself by building a snow castle, but it looked more like snow mount. Finally, getting bored with his snow mount, Pinky decided to wander around. Or at least he tried to anyway, but he still had trouble standing for very long.

While wadding around he spotted some of the other kids sliding down a particularly large slide. Remembering how fun it was to slide around in that cave, Pinky decided to give it a try. He had a little trouble getting to the top as his stubby arms didn't have much strength to pull himself up, but somehow he managed to get the top. There, he saw he was pretty high up, but he wasn't afraid. He had been higher before. With an excited giggle he sat on the slide and pushed himself down. As Pinky went spinning down the slide, he shrieked in glee. He shrieked even louder when he was catapulted into the air, completely oblivious of the ground that was quickly closing in. He was about to collide with the ground when familiar brown tusk caught him.

"Whoa! That was close!" he heard his furry guardian say. "I swear! I can't take my eyes off you for one minute!" Pinky laughed joyful as Manny sat him on the ground next to Diego, who gave a quick once over to see if he was hurt.

"I though Sid was supposed to be watching him." He said, slightly irritated. Manny raised an eye brow as the children's laughter caught his attention. Pinky turned and saw the other kids were burying Sid in the ground.

"Found him." The mammoth sighed.

"Yep." The tight agreed as he scooped Junior up with his teeth. They walked over the group, who fringed innocence when Manny called,

"Whoa! Whoa! Who said you could play torture the sloth?"

"Now, now, Manny," Diego said with a cat's grin and set Pinky down. "Don't crush their creativity."

"Hey, Manny! Diego! My bad, mammal, jammals," Sid greeted. "Wanna give a sloth a hand?" Manny helped him and placed him next to Pinky.

"Isn't it great? I finally opened my camp!" He picked the baby up and tickled him making him laugh joyfully. "Now Pinky will have someone to play with! Yes he will!" Then he looked away and moved his hand across the air. "I call it; Campo De Sid! That means Camp of Sid." Pinky heard Diego scoff.

"Congratulations; you're now an idiot in two languages." This earned a giggle from Pinky and a frown from Sid.

"Shh! Not in front of the K-I-D-Z!" he hissed. Pinky tilted his head. He didn't know how to spell, but he was pretty sure that was wrong. "These little guys love me! Right Billy?"

"Don't make me eat you!" Billy responded earning a laugh from the other kids. Sid let a hollow laugh as he shifted Pinky in his arms.

"Aw, they kid! That's why they're called _kids_."

"Sid, I told you; you're not qualified to watch kids." Manny said in that dead pan tone of his. "You're lucky we let you watch this one." He affectionately patted Pinky's head.

"Oh, since when do qualifications have anything to do with childcare? I mean, look how well I take care of Pinky here!" Sid waved Manny off as he set Pinky down. "Besides, these kids look up to me! They see me as a role model!" Pinky noticed one of the kids tying a vine around Sid's feet, but didn't know what he was doing until another knocked him down.

"I can see that." Diego said. Pinky crawled over to Sid to see if he was okay. He didn't mind Manny or Diego picking on Sid, but he didn't like anyone else doing it.

"Bah?" he said, which was his way of asking if Sid was okay or not. Sid smiled gratefully at him.

"Don't worry, I'm okay." He told him. Then he frowned at the other two members of his herd. "You two never think I can do anything, but I'm an equal member of this heard!" He managed to push himself up to stare Diego and Manny in the eye. "_I_ made this herd! So you need to start treating me with some respect! C'mon, Pinky!" Sid started to bounce away and Pinky waddled after him, know that if nothing else _he_ would play with him.

"Aw, c'mon Sid!"

"Yeah, Sid, we were just joking!" The other two yelled after him, but Sid ignored them.

*8*

As Pinky followed Sid he heard Sid muttering to himself, though he could only make out respect as the sloth struggled to get the vine off his feet. When he fell back finally, Pinky waddled over to him. Sid sighed as their eyes met.

"You're the only one who shows me any amount of respect, little guy." He said. Pinky laughed his usual baby laugh as Sid stared intently at him. "Y'know, you're gonna have ta start learin' to talk if you're going to get along with anyone here." Sid the then flipped himself onto his belly to look Pinky in the eye. "C'mon, repeat after me; Ssss-iiid. Ssss-iiidd!"Pinky watched Sid, confused at first, but then he tried to do the same, instead however he just ended up spitting on the sloth's face. Sid wiped his face.

"Okay, we'll work on it." He said. "Meanwhile, why don't you go play with some of the other kids?" As he said this two ant eaters passed by. "Hey!" he called out to them. "Wanna play with Pinky here?" Pinky waved shyly, but the other two children simply stuck up their noses and walked away. Pinky watched them, before turning away sadly.

"Aw, we don't need them!" Sid said cheerfully as he bounced Pinky in the air. Then he looked thoughtful. "Hm! Looks like we both need to earn some respect around here, but how?" Pinky looked thoughtful as well. "Hm… it's going to have to be something smart and daring…"

*8*

"Okay! I'm gonna jump on the count of three!" Sid yelled to the people below. He and Pinky were up on the highest edge around. Pinky glanced over the ledge and gulped. Even for him this was high. Luckily, Sid had decided to set him down so he wouldn't have to jump with him.

"One… Two…" Sid counted timidly.

"Thwah!" Pinky said helpfully. Sid gave him a flat look.

"Aw, since when can you count?" he scoffed.

"Sid!" Pinky and Sid turned to see Manny and Diego coming towards them. "What are you doing? Get down from there!"

"No way!" Sid said defiantly. "I'm gonna be the first guy to off the ibierator and finally get some respect around here!"

"If you jump, the only respect you're going to have is respect for the **dead**!" Manny said as he and Diego came up behind him. Pinky didn't hear the rest, for he was entranced by the cliff. He didn't understand it, but in his mind he could see the face of a woman and water. Lots and lots of water. All the sudden Pinky didn't want Sid to jump. He didn't understand why, he just didn't. He let out a sudden cry as Sid finally jumped, but luckily Manny had rushed forward and caught him. Unluckily, the two came sliding back towards him and Diego.

"Hey, watch it!" Diego yelled before he and Pinky were knocked back towards the ice. Diego was of course disgruntled, but Pinky was squealing with joy, always enjoying any type of slide. Until he heard the ice crack that is.

"Hoo?" He barely had time to process what was going on before Diego grabbed him and started racing back towards the others, where he jumped onto Manny's face.

"Uh, Diego? Retract the claws." Manny said as he tapped the tiger slightly.

"H-huh? Oh!" Diego jumped off as he dropped the baby on the ground. "Sorry." He mumbled.

"You know, if I didn't know you better, Diego, I'd say you were afraid of the water!" Sid laughed before Diego growled and grabbed his throat. "Okay! Okay! Good thing I know you better!" he choked.

"Hey guys…" Manny said suddenly. "Fast Tony was right. Everything is melting…" Pinky looked out to where the ice was and saw that it had been replaced with water. He briefly wondered how that happened. Then he noticed how worried his guardians were and became worried in turn.

"It's all going to flood."

'_Flood?'_ Pinky didn't know what that meant, but he knew it couldn't be good. Suddenly he felt Manny grab him. "C'mon, we've gotta warn them."

Why would they need to warn them? Pinky wondered. After all, it was just water. He played in it plenty of times, so why would it do any harm? Suddenly he heard a huge, echoing sound and the ice beneath him and his guardians cracked before sending the heroes falling. The trio screamed as they fell, but Pinky let out a cry of glee, having the time of his infant life.

They landed on a slide Sid had built and started to skid across the water. Pinky went flying out of Manny's grip, but caught by Sid. When they finally stopped a figure that Pinky recognozied as Fast Tony, jumped up.

"You see? This is exactly what I'm talking about!" he proclaimed. "Giant balls of furry lava! The size of mammoths! Raining from the sky!"

"Ah, go suck air through a reed!" an individual called. Suddenly Manny stepped forward.

"You gotta listen to him! He's right about the flood!" he said.

"I am? I mean, uh, yes! I am."

Pinky sorta tuned out after this. He didn't understand what they were going on or what they were saying. What was a flood? And why was Manny scared? Surely, whatever it was _he_ could fight it. After all, he was the biggest guy around.

"Flood's real alright," The baby looked up and cringed slightly when he saw a dark, scary bird that Diego had called a 'vulture.' "And it's coming _fast_. Look around;" Pinky did so since everyone else was doing it, but still didn't understand. "You're in a _bowl_. Bowl's gonna fill up. Ain't no way out." People started gasping in fear and Pinky became nervous. "_Unless_, you can make it to the end of the valley. There's a boat. It can save you."

'Boat?'

"_But_ ya'll better hurry." The bird continued. "Ground's meltin', wall's tumblin', rocks crumblin', survive that and you'll be racin' the water cause in three days' time it's gonna hit the geyser field. BOOM!" Pinky rolled back, startled and Manny picked him up, comfortingly.

"There is some good news though," Pinky looked up. "The more of you _die_, the better _I_ eat." Everyone looked at him indignantly. "I didn't say it was good news for you." He suddenly approached Pinky, a hungry look in his eye. "There's one in particular that I'm looking forward to eating." He licked his beak and Pinky cuddled closer to Manny, who pulled him away from the man eater and glared protectively. The vulture simply grinned before flying off.

"Uhill! He must have been a joy to have in class." Sid said sarcastically.

Just then they all heard a large crack. They turned towards the ice wall and saw a piece break from it and fall towards them. Everyone ran off to the side and Manny had to shield Pinky from pieces of rumble that flew towards them. Once that was over they all turned towards the wall that was slowly cracking.

Manny set Pinky on top of his head as he turned to the others.

"Alright, you heard the scary vulture, lets move out." He called out. As everyone started to walk away, Diego turned to Manny.

"Manny, you really think there's a boat?" he asked.

"I don't know. But in a few days this place is going to be a mile underwater. If there's any hope, its that way." Pinky blinked, still not understanding what was going on. Why were his guardians so scared? Suddenly he noticed something out the corner of his eye.

"Boo!" He tugged Manny's hair, but when Manny turned all he saw was a large piece of ice.

"Manny!" Diego called. Manny the ice one last look before turning away. Pinky however, continued to stare at it as is rotated in the water. Suddenly it reveal two, frightening looking monsters. With a squeal, Pinky turned away and buried his face in Manny's hair.

"Hey, don't worry, squirt." Manny assured him. "Everything's gonna be okay."

Pinky was so sure about that.

)(*)(

Okay, I saw the trailer for the new Ice Age Movie, and I got a little nostalgic, so I started searching for some 'what if fics' and noticed that there were none about the trio having to raise Pinky, so in honor of the 4th movie I figured I'd give it a shot.

So, tell me what you think and you would like see happen through the story, and if anyone can tell me about how 12months babies act, and such I'd appreciate it.

Review!


	2. Meeting the possum family

Ice Age: Tale of Man

Summary: What if the trio didn't manage to return Pinky to his family? What dramatic change would this have on not only his life, but the lives of those around him?

Disclaimer: Ice Age belongs to Fox, I own nothing currently.

**Special thanks to those who reviewed:**

Escaped Ninja- Yay! Cookie! *munch! Munch!*

kitkat342- Thanks!

Carla68- I plan to, thanks for reviewing!

KaylaDestroyer- Yeah, you also have to keep in mind that animals speak a different language than we do. Right now Sid has taken it upon himself to teach Pinky, but Diego might get on it later.

)(*)(

Pinky didn't know how long they had traveled, but he knew it had been awhile and frankly, he was getting bored. He tried humming along with Sid's songs but Manny didn't seem to like that so he stopped. It wasn't like he understood it anyway. After all, what was 'extinct?' Was it a type of food?

When Sid started to sing again, Manny turned to him.

"Sid! I'm going to fall on you again and this time, I'm going to kill you!" he warned.

"Okay, okay!" Sid sighed in defeat. "Gimme Pinky then!" Manny did so and Sid shifted him in his arms. "Since Uncle Manny isn't a fan of the classics, let's get back to your lessons, shall we? Ssss-id. Say it with me; Sss-id." Pinky tried, up just ended up blowing raspberries.

"Sid? What are you doing?" Diego asked, somewhat amused.

"What does it look like? I'm teaching him how to talk." Sid replied as he wiped the spit from Pinky's face. "He's gotta learn some time." Diego rolled his eyes.

"You're wasting your time, Sid. Humans can't talk." He told him.

"Well, maybe he can learn!" Sid said optimistically as he bounced the baby into the air. "What you think Manny? Manny?" Pinky looked up at his fluffy guardian and noticed that he was looking sadly at an icicle.

"What if you're right?" Manny muttered. "What if I am the last mammoth?" Pinky tilted his head curiously. Why would he be the last? And what did that mean? Was being last a bad thing? Is that why Manny looked so sad?

Sid set Pinky down, and the baby staggered a bit, still not used to this walking thing. But he managed to steady himself as Sid turned to Manny.

"Look on the Brightside," he said. "You still got us!"

"Not your most argument Sid." Diego said.

'_Why?'_ Pinky wondered. He loved his herd! So what if there weren't any other mammoths? Manny was enough, wasn't he?

Suddenly a large sound echoed out, a sound that sounded a bit like Manny when he blew his trunk.

"Mammoths?" Diego confirmed. Suddenly Manny's face brighten as he exclaimed,

"I knew I couldn't be the last one!" He knocked his tusk into Sid, then ran off, the sloth hanging on for dear life. Pinky stared after them before Diego grabbed him and tossed him on his back.

"C'mon, squirt!"

Pinky cheered as he and his uncle Diego ran after his uncle Manny and Sid. When they caught up it looked like they were racing.

"And he's acomin' around the corner, and he's ahead by a tusk!" Suddenly Sid was thrown just as the mammoth came to a stop. There Sid slid until just managed to come to a stop in front of a log where he was immediately hit by backwind.

"Ooh! Sorry!" a large mammal said. "My stomach hates me!" Both Diego and Pinky cringed in disgust.

"Phew! Well, don't that put the stick in extinction?" Sid said. Manny turned away as Pinky crawled off of Diego's back. "Manny?"

"I, uh, I need to be alone for a while. You go on ahead. I'll catch up." He left and Pinky tried to toddle after him, but was stopped by Diego. When he looked up at him, the tiger ruffled his hair.

"He'll be back later, squirt."

"Sigh! One truly is the loneliest number." He heard Sid say. Again, Pinky didn't understand. What was lonely? And what was one? He wished these adults would start making sense!

They started to leave when something shot his guardians in the head. He looked up and saw two rat things hanging from a tree. They were holding some sort of straw thing.

"Woo-hoo! These things work great!"

"Yeah!" Pinky tilted his head at them. What odd little things.

Pinky was startled when Diego leaped up at the tree and swiped at the creatures. They fell and scrambled away towards some holes in the ground.

"Diego!" Sid called. "No killing in front of the B-A-B-E!" Pinky skewed his head, sure that was wrong as well.

"Then turn him around! 'Cause I'm having Possum stew tonight!" Diego called back. He tried to catch them but seemed to be having trouble. Sid ran down to help, but seemed to only cause even more trouble.

Pinky laughed as he watched them. It looked so fun, he wanted to join in but before he could, the Possums jumped out and ran up the hill. They shouted some stuff that Pinky didn't really listen to, for suddenly he spotted a reed much like the ones the possums had earlier. He picked up and blew it towards the possums brothers and let out a gleeful cry when the stone hit not one, but both when the stone bounced of the other's head. Did that mean he won the game?

"Ack! I've been hit!"

"Me too!" They both fell back, but jumped back up when they saw Diego coming towards them.

"Ahh! Retreat!" they yelled as they ran away. Diego let out a roar before disappearing from sight.

"Diego! Wait up!" Sid ran after him, but came back immediately to grab Pinky. "C'mon kiddo!" he said, earning a squeak in agreement.

*8*

When they trio finally caught up the two, they were surprised to see not only Manny, but another mammoth.

"Well shave me down and call me a mole rat! You've found another mammoth!" Sid exclaim, letting Pinky fall from his grip. The other mammoth gasped.

"Where?" she said. "Wait, I thought mammoths were extinct." There was that word again! And frankly, Pinky was getting fed up with it. What was 'extinct?' Was it a color? Food? Was it a place? What? He wished someone would explain it to him already.

He noticed his guardians staring at the other mammoth so he turned as well, but he didn't see anything odd.

"Why are you all staring at me?" That's what _he_ was wondering.

"Oh, I don't know… Maybe because you're a mammoth!" Manny said. Oh? Was that it? It wasn't anything that big in Pinky's opinion.

"Me? A mammoth? Don't be ridiculous! I'm a possum!"

'_Huh?'_ Pinky blinked. She was a possum? He thought she was a mammoth.

"Right. Good one," Manny said sarcastically. "I'm a newt, this my friend the badger and my other friend the platypus!"

"Mwha?"

Alright, now Pinky was really confused. His head started to hurt. He ignored everyone as he crawled closer to get better look at the new possum or mammoth.

In his opinion she looked just like Manny, except she was fluffier and had red hair instead of brown.

Suddenly Pinky lost his balance and fell against the she-possum/mammoth's leg. She looked down and her green eyes brightened.

"Awww! Who is this adorable thing?" She lifted him up so now they were both looking each other over.

"Careful, sis!" one of the possums exclaimed.

"Yeah! He's a real killer!" In response to this, Pinky did the peekaboo game that Diego had taught him. This made the girl giggle as she bounced him a little.

"Yeah, he looks really ferocious!" she said. Then in a higher voice, she asked, "What's your name little guy?"

"We call him Pinky!" Sid said helpfully.

"Pinky? Oh! Because he's pink?"

"Yup! Manny's actually the one that named him." Sid told her as she handed the baby back to him. "Speaking of Manny; He wanted me to ask if you guys wanted to escape the flood with us."

"What?" Manny gasped.

"I'd rather be road kill!" one of the possums yelled.

"That can be arranged!" Diego growled. The girl pulled the possums away.

"Ah, ha! Funny! Um, let me have a word with my brothers." She laughed. When did so, Manny whacked Sid over the head.

"What the heck you invite them for?" he hissed.

"Because! You two could be the last two mammoths on earth!" Sid responded. Pinky titled his head. Didn't Manny just say he was a newt? And wasn't the other girl a possum? Sometimes Pinky wondered if his guardians were alright.

"He's got a point." Diego agreed with Sid as he leaned in.

"I'm sorry! When did I join this dating service?" Manny suddenly snatched Pinky away from Sid and dropped him on his back, rather roughly. "I have enough to deal with by raising Pinky, here! I don't need you guys making my life more complicated!" The girl stepped forward.

"My brothers and I would be delighted to come with you." She said. Pinky laughed joyously. He didn't know her for very long, but he looked forward to having somebody to play with. Manny let out a defeated sigh and a possum stomped forward.

"_If!_ You treat us nicely!" he said, rather bravely. This seemed to irritate Diego, who growled viciously. "See? See that? That's the total opposite of nice!" Really? Pinky didn't think so. After all, Diego had reacted the same way when they all met for the first time.

"Maybe we'll have ourselves a little _snack_ before we go." He said. This cheered Pinky up. He was getting a little hungry himself.

"You want a piece of us? Let's go!" Then one of the possum brothers jumped onto Diego and started to play, making Pinky want to get down and play with them.

This continued until they heard a loud, echoing sound. Then they all looked up and Pinky found himself burying his face in Manny's hair. He hated that sound. Every time that sound was heard, everyone got really scared and he in turn got scared as well. What did that sound mean? Was something bad going to happen? He didn't understand. He didn't understand at all.

Manny patted him, soothingly.

"Okay," he called to the others. "Thanks to Sid, we're all traveling together and like it or not, we're gonna be one big happy family. I'll be the daddy, Ellie will be the mommy and Diego will be the uncle who eats the kids that gets on my nerves! Now let's move it before the ground falls out from under us!" With that Manny started on his way.

Sometimes Pinky was really worried about his guardians. He heard another echoing sound and cringed. He worried about that even more.

)(*)(

Poor Pinky doesn't understand sarcasms yet! XD Well, tell me what you think so far and how you think I can approve, writing, story, and all. Review!


	3. Fight on the Ice

Ice Age: Tale of Man

Summary: What if the trio didn't manage to return Pinky to his family? What dramatic change would this have on not only his life, but the lives of those around him?

Disclaimer: Ice Age belongs to Fox, I own nothing currently.

**Special thanks to those who reviewed:**

Escaped Ninja- I plan to, MUCH later. But for now, he's just meeting other animals.

Carla68- Thank you very much!

KaylaDestroyer- It's also my way of adding a little something to the story. It's not much, but I enjoy it.

ChestnutBrumby- I'm aware of that, thank you. However, since the trio doesn't know that, neither does Pinky.

Guest- Thank you!

Tigey Wigey- Well, he's traveling with Diego and Manny, so I'm sure he'll pick it up once he learns to talk. As for the story, I plan to continue it as long as I can. I have to see the fourth movie before I can start planning that far though.

)(*)(

Ellie certainly had to be the strangest thing that Pinky had ever seen before, including Sid. Manny had allowed Pinky to trot on the ground a bit with the rest of them and he was very focused on the new arrivals to the herd. They were very funny to watch. They were sneaking around, jumping into bushes and trees. But the funniest was when the trio suddenly fell over to play dead. Thinking it was part of the game, Pinky did the same, but quickly found that simply lying around was boring.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Manny asked Ellie.

"Playing dead!" she replied. Pinky got tired of 'playing dead' and sat up as Sid walked up.

"Hey, Manny why don't you do that?" He asked.

"Because, I'm a mammoth!" Manny said firmly. Pinky frowned. He loved Manny, but he wished he would make up his mind. Was he a mammoth or a newt?

"But you'd do it for treats, right?" Treats? Like Peaches? Excited at the thought of getting some treats, Pinky let himself fall back to play dead again. "See? Pinky does it!" He only got up again only when the other three did.

"Phew!" he heard Ellie say. "If you weren't here that hawk would have snatched me up and carried me off to dinner!"

'_Really?'_ Wow. Hawks must be one of the strongest creatures in the world!

Pinky followed them as they walked away, finding the new trio more fun than the old one, but Manny followed him close behind. Ellie seemed to notice this as she slowed so Pinky could keep up with her.

"So, I'm curious," she said to Manny. "How do a mammoth, a sloth, and saber end up with a… What is he again?"

"A human. And to answer your question, let's just say a cruel twist of fate." Manny said shortly. Pinky blinked up at him wondering what he meant by that. Ellie frowned slightly.

"Okay, okay! No need to get your trunk in a knot, I was just asking!" she said. Then her face softened. "Still, I admire you. I can't even image what it feels like to be the last one of your species."

"I'm** not** the last." Manny said firmly. Pinky was still confused. What was so bad about being the last? And why did it make Manny so upset?

"Oh, you brave, brave soul!" Then Ellie patted his head. "That's right! Don't give up hope!" Manny sighed,

"Ellie." She turned. "Look at our footprints. They're the same shape." Pinky looked. _They_ were the _same_. Ellie looked at them, then at Manny.

"How do I know they're not your foot prints?" Pinky looked at him for the answer.

"Well, then… Look at our shadow. We match." Pinky saw that they did indeed. But he also noticed that _his_ shadow did not.

"You're right," Ellie agreed. Manny looked hopeful. "You must be part possum!" she slugged him in the shoulder before walking off.

"You wish!" Eddie said as he and his brother passed.

Everyone continued on, except for Pinky who placed his foot in one of Ellie's footprints.

They were _not_ the same. Pinky suddenly felt a very sad feeling. The same one he felt whenever the other kids refused to play with him.

"Hey, Pinky!" Manny called back. "C'mon! We gotta keep moving!" When he didn't move Diego and Sid came up behind him.

"What's wrong, little guy? Are you feeling okay?" Sid asked. Pinky pointed at his shadow and realized that his didn't match Sid's or Diego's shadow ether. "Yes! That's your shadow! You can make it do a lot of things! Like this!" He held his hand and started to do shadow puppets until Diego smacked him from behind.

"Come on! We're losing daylight."

"Okay, okay! Sheesh, uncle Diego can be such a grumpy puss!" Sid grabbed Pinky and threw him over his shoulder. "C'mon, little guy!" As Sid carried him off, Pinky couldn't help but notice that their foot prints did not match his either.

*8*

Hours later, the group was walking across the ice. Manny was carrying Pinky as he was afraid he would jump into the puddles, but in Pinky's opinion he should have been carrying Diego, who looked very nervous. To be perfectly honest, Pinky didn't like it ether. He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was near.

He had leaned closer onto Manny's head when suddenly he spotted something in the ice.

"Bah!" He pointed at the ice, but when Manny looked there was nothing there.

Before he could say anything to comfort the child though, a giant monster burst through the ice and attacked the group. Sid was sent flying into the water and Pinky, in his fright had let go of Manny and rolled off. Lucky for him, Manny caught him. Unluckily another monster had burst up and tried to attack them. Manny turned and ran, but the monster followed them beneath the ice. Pinky had never been so scared before, okay when fire had shot out of the ground he had been scared, but still! He buried his face into Manny's trunk as he stopped to look for the beast. For a moment, it seemed they had lost them, but then it jumped out of the water and turned to attack Manny and the baby. Manny dodged the first attack and looked around. He spotted Ellie, who was on shore.

"Ellie!" Suddenly Manny tossed Pinky in the air towards her, just as the beast leaped again. Ellie caught him and held him close as she let out a gasp. Pinky turned his little body and saw that Manny had caught the monster with his tusks. Pinky wiggled as he desperately reached out to his guardian, but Ellie held him tight. He was so scared Manny was going to eaten when just then Manny managed to toss the monster away and back into the water.

Pinky cheered as Manny came toward them.

"Is Pinky okay?" he asked.

"He's okay," Ellie assured him as she handed Pinky back to him. "Better than I would be."

"Yeah, well he's a brave little guy." Manny said affectionately as he gave the baby a hug, who returned it with all his little strength.

"Not as brave as his uncle." Ellie commented. "That was the bravest thing I have ever seen."

"Aw, it was nothing really. I-"

"Oh, it's not a compliment." She informed him. "To a possum, bravery's just dumb."

"Yeah," Crash agreed. "We're spineless."

"Lily-livered." Eddie added. The possum family turned and walked away.

"Maybe mammoths are going extinct because they put themselves in danger too often. Maybe you should run away more." Pinky tuned out after that, the wheels in his mind turning.

Extinct. If Manny hadn't have escaped he would have been eaten. Ellie called that extinct. So did 'extinct' mean to be eaten?

Pinky stared at the water and suddenly remembered when he was submerged in it with his mother. He remembered how scary that had been. He also remembered that…

He out a slight whine as he cringed in Manny's grip.

"Ohh! It's okay, baby!" Sid said as he took him from Manny. "Everything's okay now! It's okay! Uncle Sid is here! And those mean monsters are gone." He rocked Pinky, trying to calm him, but it didn't help.

"Come on," Diego said. "Let's get him something to eat. Maybe that'll calm him down."

"Yeah, let's go." Manny agreed. The trio started away, but Pinky just stared at the water as they carried him away.

He decided that 'water' was a scary thing and very, very mean.

)(*)(

Looks like Diego's not the only one with water issues. I wanted to write Pinky getting into trouble with the Possum brothers, but I imagine Manny wouldn't let that happen.

So, as usual tell me what you think, what you like and don't like and what you would like to see.

Review!


	4. Rollin' in the log

Ice Age: Tale of Man

Summary: What if the trio didn't manage to return Pinky to his family? What dramatic change would this have on not only his life, but the lives of those around him?

Disclaimer: Ice Age belongs to Fox, I own nothing currently.

_Special thanks to those who reviewed:_

Escaped Ninja- COOKIE! *Munchie! Much!*

Carla68- Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Guest- Scroll down.

Tigey Wigey- Thanks!

TMNTLittleTomboy- Thank you!

StoryMaker7- I'm aware, thank you. As for Pinky's first word you'll have to wait and find out.

Mad-Face Pro c.c- I plan to, and thank you!

)(*)(

The herd traveled for hours that day before the night came. While Manny and the other heroes moved logs to get through, Pinky played with Ellie and her brothers. They had become really close in their time together. Crash and Eddie even helped him to climb up a tree, which worried Manny at first, but he calmed when he saw Ellie was right beneath him and he was only a foot away from her. Manny found himself watching them, transfixed.

"She's not half bad." Manny turned, whacking Sid as he did. "Crazy and confused, but sweet."

"So?" Manny said gruffly. He turned again and smacked Sid as he was getting up.

"So, what's holding you back?" Diego pressed, easily dodging. Manny tossed the log aside before answering.

"My family." He grabbed another log and Sid popped out.

"You can have that again, you know." He said gently.

"No Sid. I can't." Manny said back, firmly. "Besides, I gotta take care of Pinky now. And _you_." He made to toss the log and Sid screamed.

"Yaah! Okay! Okay! But think about it! If you let this chance go, you're letting your whole _species_ and that's just… that's just selfish!" Manny scowled before tossing the log and Sid away. Diego turned to Manny, looking serious.

"Look Manny," he said softly. "I know you love the kid, but technically, Pinky's _not_ your responsibility. If anything he's _mine_. So you wanted to go and start a family, you don't have to be held back." Manny seemed shocked for a moment.

"You're suggesting I _leave_ you and Sid to raise him alone?"

"I'm suggesting that you've always put others before you… Maybe you should think about putting yourself first this time. Besides, I've learned how to handle him by now." With that Diego walked away and over to Sid, leaving Manny to think.

*8*

Pinky toddled after Crash and Eddie as Ellie playfully chased them. They seemed to have lost Ellie though as they were now alone.

"Hey, keep up squirt!" Crash called back to him, lightheartedly.

"Yeah!" Eddie called as well. "C'mon this way!" Pinky laughed happily as he followed them into a log, but while crawling through, he became stuck. He wiggle to try and get out, but couldn't. After a few seconds, he started to cry when Eddie suddenly back.

"Shh! It's okay, Pinky! We'll get you out!" he assured him. He tugged at Pinky's hand while Crash pushed him.

"Nghh! Maybe we should get Ellie!"

"Let's try the other way first!"

"Do you know which end is pointing at me?"

Their wiggling made the log they were in unstable and without warning they went rolling down a very tall hill. Crash and Eddie screamed, but Pinky laughed, having fun as they turned round and round until the three suddenly hit a large rock. It wasn't big enough to stop them but it was big enough that when the log hit it just right, the log split opened and the trio bounced into the air, before landing on one of the broken pieces of the log. Pinky and the possum brothers all cheered as they slid down the hill, all three having the time of their life. They screamed even louder when they skidded across a bolder, which sent them spinning in circles until they hit another rock which flipped the log half and sent the three flying high in to the air. Crash and Eddie screamed before they managed to grab a tree branch. They hung there with their tails and just managed to grab Pinky when he flew toward them.

"Nggh! What now, genius?" Crash yelled at Eddie.

"How should I know?"

Pinky laughed completely unaware of the situation they were in. The possum brothers held onto the baby for as long as they cold before he suddenly slipped from their grip. The baby let out a shrill cry before something jumped up and caught him. Pinky blinked for a moment then realized that he was being held by Diego.

"Nice catch!" Eddie said as he and his brother slid down the tree. Diego set the baby down before glaring at Crash and Eddie.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he snarled, teeth bared. "If you two want to get _yourselves_ killed, you're more than welcome, but leave the _baby_ out of it!"

"We didn't mean to!" Crash defended.

"Yeah!" Eddie added. "It was just a series of unforeseen events!" Diego growled.

"Really? Did you foresee me ripping off your heads and playing your bodies like a yo-yo!"

"You want a piece of us?"

"Did I not make that clear?" he said in a low tone. The brothers gulped as Diego stepped forward, but he stopped when Pinky let out a cry. He didn't like it when he was ignored. Diego hesitated for a moment, before he scoffed and turned away from the rats.

"I'll deal with you, later." He warned.

"Anytime, anywhere, fur ball!"

"Yeah!" Diego ignored them as he grabbed Pinky and walked away. Pinky guessed it was bed time.

*8*

When they were away from the brothers, Diego set Pinky down and looked him over with a sigh.

"I can't take my eyes off of you for even a second, can I?" he muttered. Pinky laughed, reaching out to him as he lay on his back. Then he noticed that Diego looked sad for some reason.

"I got a feeling it's going to be just you and me soon, kid." He said. Pinky tilted his head in confusion and Diego smiled slightly, before looking away. Pinky figured that Diego must still be scared about earlier, not that he could blame him. Those monsters were pretty freaky.

Deciding that he needed some cheering up, he covered his eyes then uncovered them with a roar. Diego blinked before smirking.

"Aren't you getting a little old for peek a boo?" Pinky responded by doing the same thin. Diego grinned before covering his own eyes.

"Where's the baby? There he is!" Pinky let out a gleeful laugh and the two continued like this until Diego got tired of the game and carried Pinky back to where Sid was waiting.

8*8

Sorry, these chapters are so short! But, hey! Shorter chapters, quicker updates! ^^; Thanks so much to everyone for reviewing!


	5. Balancing act and memories

Ice Age: Tale of Man

Summary: What if the trio didn't manage to return Pinky to his family? What dramatic change would this have on not only his life, but the lives of those around him?

Disclaimer: Ice Age belongs to Fox, I own nothing currently.

Special thanks to those who reviewed:

Escaped Ninja- Yay! More COOKIES!

_Bates: You don't need the calories!_

_Me: Shut up!_

Jasper Dragonfly- What I couldn't believe is that no one else wrote a story like this.

Guest- Probably gonna club 'em like she did when they embarrassed her!

Tigey Wigey- Thank you very much! I try my best to make everyone sound like themselves.

TMNTLittleTomboy- Yeah, Diego's a softie around the squirt.

KaylaDestroyer- Sooner than you think.

Mad-Face Pro c.c- So am I. ^^;

)(*)(

Pinky looked between Manny and Ellie, confused as Sid carried him. He had been playing with Sid when Ellie had come back mad for some reason. He wished he knew why, but Pinky was starting to accept the fact that everyone around him were confusing creatures.

He blinked his eyes a few times. He was starting to become very tired after a long day and the fog wasn't helping.

"Hey, guys?" Sid said. "Maybe we should think about stopping soon. Pinky's getting awfully-" Before he could finish though, Crash and Eddie fell and the ground started to crack. Diego grabbed the moving ground and accidently hit Sid, who dropped Pinky.

"Pinky!" Thanks to his baby immortality though, Pinky landed on a moving rock that was spinning around the heard.

At first, Pinky was a little worried, but after a few moments he started to have fun and was laughing with joy. The rocks 'rocked' again and Sid fell onto the same rock as him. Afterwards though, all the adults started yelling and Pinky couldn't see why. Couldn't they just sit back and enjoy the ride? There was no need to get so upset. Sid finally managed pull himself up and held him as they passed another edge. The sloth reached out towards it but fell. He turned in the air so he wouldn't land on Pinky, but without his weight, the rock formation started to crumble. Everyone managed to get across before it fell, except Diego who had to jump at the last moment. For second Pinky was scared that he was going to fall, but luckily Ellie and Manny caught him.

"Look at that," Ellie said quietly. "I guess we finally did something right together. Pinky didn't know what that meant, but he was glad she and Manny were being nice to each other again.

They pulled Diego up and after finding some solid ground they decided to make camp. Sid made a fire while Manny and Ellie walked around very close to each other. This actually annoyed Pinky for he was very tired and Manny was usually Pinky's bed. Finally Pinky got tired of waiting and started looking for a place to lie down. To his surprise he found a leaf formation that shaped just like his old bed. The one he used to sleep in before he met Manny and them. Pinky hugged the bed.

He remembered feeling so safe and warm in that bed, not because of the bed itself, but because his mama and papa were always there. He remembered his mama singing him as she held him tightly in her arms and his papa bouncing him high into the air. Not as high as Manny could, but still.

His eye drooped sleepily.

He wondered where they were. Why weren't they here with him? They said they always would be.

Suddenly he felt something familiar and warm wrap around him.

"C'mon Pinky," Manny said. "Let's get some sleep." Pinky hugged Manny's trunk tightly.

He tried to recall where his parents were but all he could remember the violent rush of water and his mom holding him tightly. He missed her. He missed _them_. He vaguely remembered the words his mother had tried to teach him.

"Mama…" he muttered sadly. But he had said it so quietly, no one else heard him. Eventually he drifted off to sleep where he dreamed of his mama and papa.

)(*)(

Pinky's first word and no one was awake to hear it. I know, the chapters are shrinking, but I plan to make up for it when I reach the third movie. By the way, does anyone know how many years pass between Meltdown and Dawn of the Dinosaurs?


	6. The miniSids

_Ice Age: Tale of Man_

**Summary:** What if the trio didn't manage to return Pinky to his family? What dramatic change would this have on not only his life, but the lives of those around him?

**Disclaimer:** Ice Age belongs to Fox, I own nothing currently.

**Special thanks to those who reviewed:**

Escaped Ninja- COOKIE!

_Bates: No! You kept everyone waiting for this! No cookie for you!_

_Me: WAAHH!_

Jasper Dragonfly- Thanks! And yeah, I'm kinda looking forward to that too! ^_^

Guest 1- Hmm, okay!

KaylaDestroyer- Maybe he will! Or maybe he'll say another word.

98penguin- Do elephants age like humans? If they age slower, then technically he'd be an adult.

Maya Serena- Okay! Thanks!

suntan140- I'm not too sure that the years between the movies are the same as the years they were released.

ringo-tensai- Thank you very much!

Golbolco- You bet he is!

)(*)(

Pinky woke up later that night with a slight yawn. He was hungry. He patted Manny on the trunk to let him know, but Manny was in too deep of a sleep. Pinky quickly became fed up with him and crawled out of his hold. He would go wake Sid! He would feed him.

He started to trot over to him when suddenly Sid started to move. This baffled him because Sid was still asleep. He never saw him move when he was asleep before. At least not in any direction. Curious, Pinky toddled after his sloth guardian.

What he didn't realize however, is that as he followed his guardian, a particular nasty vulture was watching him hungrily and followed him through the air.

Pinky followed Sid through some very tall grass and up a hill. He a little trouble climbing the hill, but thanks to his perseverance he managed. Once at the top, he saw that there was thousands of Sids, except they were his size and in all different colors. Pinky clapped his hands in joy. They seemed to be really nice as they gave Sid a pretty crown of flowers. He recognized what it was because his mother had made him one once.

He trotted closer to see Sid, but due to the crowd, it was hard. From where he was though, he could see Sid grab two rocks from a mini-Sid and use them to start a fire. When he did, the rock formation that looked just like the sloth, lit up. Pinky cheered with the others and clapped in amazement.

Afterwards, Sid started dancing and the other Sids copied him. Pinky tried to as well, but fell back since he didn't have as good a balance. So instead, he settled for watching them. The dancing came to an abrupt stop however, when the mini-Sids wrapped Sid with vines, before carrying him to the top of the Sid monument.

Pinky couldn't see what was going on up there, but he bet that they were having a lot of fun. He started to tot towards it, but before his little legs could carry him half the way, the monument started to crumble.

"Bad ju-ju!" one of the sloths yelled before the head fell. Pinky ducked as the rock hit the ground and its nose broke off and began to roll off with Sid, leaving Pinky behind.

When Pinky was sure it was okay, he uncovered his head and looked around. All the sloths had scattered when the head fell, so now he was alone. He cringed. Pinky had never been all alone before. There was always, always someone with him. Whether it was his mama, papa, Manny, Sid, or Diego, someone was always there. No it was just him and he didn't like it.

"Bah!" he called out hoping someone would hear him, but there was no around to answer him. He wasn't ready to give up however, and so he totted in the direction Sid had rolled.

As he did however, the vulture that had been following him swooped down and tried to grab him, but luckily Pinky fell forward and so he missed. He was not deterred however, and tried again. When Pinky fell forward though, he had started to tumble down the hill when he stopped he landed on piece of wood that launched a rock into the air, which smacked into the vulture, sending the vile thing crashing to the ground.

Pinky blinked at the wood and remembered the fun he had sliding the other day with Crash and Eddie. With an excited giggle, he crawled on to the board and sat on it. At first nothing happened, but after he wiggled a bit the log began to move. He shrieked joyfully as he began to slide down the hill. When he approached the bottom he saw Sid climbing out of the large nose.

"Ow, my head!" he mumbled just before Pinky crashed into him, sending them both rolling until Sid landed on his stomach. "Ow! The rest of me!" Sid looked up and saw Pinky sitting on his back.

"Pinky?" He sat up and grabbed the baby. "What are you doing here?" Pinky laughed in response. "Aww! Were you worried about me?" Pinky laughed again. "Aw, thanks little guy!" He sat back and let out a dreamy sigh. "You should have seen it, Pinky! There millions of mini-sloths and they worshipped me! I was Fire King! Sure, they tried to sacrifice me, but they worshipped me! It's the most respect I've ever gotten. Even from Manny and Diego." Sid held Pinky in the air. "You respect me, right?" Pinky blinked at Sid, before hugging him, knowing that he needed to be cheered up. He didn't know what respect was, but he did know that he loved Sid.

"Thanks, Pinky." Sid stood. "C'mon, we'd better get back before they all start to worry about us."

*8*

_In his dream, Manny was with his family again, his son was playing in the snow while he snuggled up to wife._

"_I love you." She said to him. Manny entangled his trunk with hers._

"_I love you," he whispered. "Always."_

_Suddenly a cry echoed out and the area was turned bright red as Manny was left alone. Manny looked around frantically, and suddenly spotted Pinky playing on the ice._

"_Pinky!" Manny rushed forward, but before he could reach him, a water monster leaped up. Its teeth were bared and its jaw reached towards the defenseless baby…_

*8*

"Ahh!"

Manny bolted awake when something sharp landed on his back. He leaped up and knocked into the tree Ellie and her brothers were sleeping in, making them fall into the water with a splash.

"Crash, I told you not to drink before bed." One of the possum brothers said.

"I didn't do this! At least, not _all_ of it."

"What's happening?" Ellie asked. Instead of answering however, Manny just said,

"We slept too long. We need to move!" Then he noticed something. "Where's Pinky?!"

"And Sid for that matter?" Diego added. Just as they asked, Sid staggered into the clearing, holding the baby's hand as he did so.

"O-oh hey, guys!" he panted. "Wow! What a night! You'll never guess what happened to me!"

"Sid! Were you trying to use Pinky to get girls again?" Pinky let out a squeal as Manny swept him up in his trunk. Manny looked him over, his dream still bothering him.

"Oh, no, no! I was kidnapped by a tribe of mini-sloths!"

"That was going to be my second guess." Diego said, clearly not interested. This did not deter Sid however.

"And they worshipped me!" he said. "Oh, sure! They tried to toss me into a burning tar pit, but they worshiped me!"

"Sid," Manny said, annoyed. "You were dreaming! Next time you want to sleep walk, leave the baby behind!" He placed Pinky on his back and walked past him. "C'mon! The water's rising faster than we're moving!"

"But I'm telling you-!" Sid started, but gave up when he realized no body was listening.

"What if we're the last creatures left alive?" Pinky heard Crash fret. "We'll have to repopulate the earth!"

"How?" the other brother asked. "Everyone's ether a dude, a baby, or our sister?"

"Meh?" The baby tilted his head and frowned. There were those big words again. What was 'repopulate?' Was it a fruit? He liked fruit. Especially peaches. Those were delicious! Maybe they were talking about a type of seed. Sid had told him about those and even let him plant one. Were they going to be planting seeds now? He wouldn't mind doing that.

He glanced back and spotted the water. Where had that come from? He cringed as a strange sound echoed out.

)(*)(

If Pinky was real, he'd have some serious brain issues what with all the jumping and tumbling he goes through.

Sorry you all had to wait so long. But I'm back in school and sadly school work has to come first. Also, I have some other stories that I'm working on, so yeah. I'll get the next chapter written when I have time.

Meanwhile, does anyone know if Elephants age like humans? I always thought they aged faster, like dogs, but some sites that I visited say that they age the same, while others say slower.


	7. The Meltdown

_Ice Age: Tale of Man_

**Summary:** What if the trio didn't manage to return Pinky to his family? What dramatic change would this have on not only his life, but the lives of those around him?

**Disclaimer:** Ice Age belongs to Fox, I own nothing currently.

**Special thanks to all those who reviewed! I apologize for the wait!**

)(*)(

After navigating through the singing vultures, the herd finally found themselves at their destination. In the distance Pinky saw the biggest piece of wood he had ever seen.

"We made it!" Diego said, relieved.

"Yeah! We showed those scary vultures!" Sid agreed. Everyone began to cheer; Manny was even bouncing Pinky into the air, until suddenly the ground started to explode in front of them. The possum brothers hid behind Ellie's leg and Pinky hugged Manny's trunk. This was just like the time fire had exploded from the ground. Sid waved it off.

"Aw, it's just a little bit of hot water and steam! How bad could it be?" Just as he asked this, a do-do bird fell into of the holes and was shot back out as fried chicken. Sid's expression dropped and his eyes became smaller. "I just did something involuntary. And messy." Pinky's face screwed with disgust. Manny looked down at Pinky before closing his eyes and tightened his grip on him.

"Okay, c'mon!" He called to the rest. He had to jump back though when a stream of air exploded before him.

"Manny! Get back! It's a mine field out there!" Pinky, who was scared of the noise, began to cry loudly. Why was everything exploding? What was going on? He looked to his guardian for ease, however this time Manny did not comfort him. He did rock him slightly.

"There's only one way to go through!" he called back to Diego. "Straight through!"

"Straight through?! We'd like to keep the fur on our bodies, thank you!" Pinky agreed with Ellie. "We'll head back and go around. That's safer."

"No, no!" Manny argued. He set Pinky down, so he could reason with the she-mammoth. "There's no time! The dam will burst before we make it! We'll drown!"

"We go through this, we get blown to bits!"

"We go forward!"

"We go back!"

"Forward!"

"Back!"

Pinky, who was right between them, cried louder. Why were Manny and Ellie yelling at each other? What was going on? Diego saw Pinky's discomfort and stepped forward.

"Can I say something?"

"No!" they both yelled. Frowning, Diego pulled the frightened baby from the two mammoths and Sid picked him up to comfort him.

"Ugh! You are so stubborn and hard headed!" Manny finally yelled.

"Well, I guess that proves it!" Ellie snapped back. "I **am** a mammoth!" With that she left, taking her brothers with her. Pinky cried and reached after her. Now where were Ellie, Eddie, and Crash going? Was anyone ever going to explain... anything to him?! He flinched when another geyser exploded. When he opened his eyes again he saw Manny navigating through what Diego called the mine field.

"Don't worry, little guy." Sid cooed as he tried to calm the baby. "We'll be okay." He then winced as another burst of hot air was released. "I hope."

Pinky was so scared the whole time they navigated through the field. He was taken back to when fire had been shooting from the ground. He remembered being scared then, but this was different. Manny wasn't there to comfort him.

"Manny!" Pinky looked up and saw Manny fall. He let out a cry of worry as Sid rushed over with Diego. Both his guardians and Pinky called out to him, but Manny didn't reply. He just kept staring ahead with wide eyes.

"Manny! We gotta go!" Suddenly Manny seemed to snap awake. He jumped up, looking frightened and panicked, which in turn worried Pinky. If Manny, as big and strong as he was, was scared, then they must be in real danger. Manny was so scared he almost ran back and had to be ushered by Diego in the right direction.

At last though, they made it out of the mine field and Pinky saw a whole line of animals boarding what seemed to be a giant log.

"We made it." Diego breathed.

"But did Ellie?" Pinky looked around for the possum family, but didn't see them. Where were they? Did they get blown up like that birdy? The herd ran down to the line of animals and began to ask everyone if they saw them, but no one did.

"I don't see her anywhere!"

"Maybe she's already on board!"

Just then the ground gave a sudden quake. Pinky buried his face into Sid's neck. The started to fall and everybody began to panic. Sid had to step off to the side so he and Pinky wouldn't get trampled. Pinky then spotted the possum brother's climbing Manny, but Ellie was nowhere in sight. This

Suddenly Manny ran off, much to the confusion of Pinky. Sid made to follow him, but was stopped by Diego.

"Sid! Get on the boat! Let Manny and I handle this!"

"But-"

"You gotta get Pinky to safety!" Pinky looked between the two of them confused. "That's the important thing right now." Sid seemed to want to argue, but bit his lip and nodded. Diego returned it before running after Manny. Pinky let out a cry as he reached after them. Where were they going? Why were they leaving him and Sid? He may be a baby but he still wanted answers to at least one of his questions. Sid gently began to coo him.

"It's going to be okay, Pinky." He promised. "Manny and Diego will be back before you know it. Now c'mon. We're going to ride in a big boat!"

Sid turned to follow the rest of the animals, but was knocked back, off the road. He let out a scream as he fell and in the process threw Pinky in the air. Pinky let out a slight cheer, this being the most fun he's had in the past 15 minutes. Sid bounced a few times before landing on a rock that was rolling down the hill. He ran on it and just managed to catch the baby when he fell. The next thing Sid knew, he and Pinky were barrel running down the hill on the rock he had landed on. Sid screamed like a girl, but Pinky cheered, having the first amount of fun in the past few hours.

*8*

Below, Diego stopped for a moment.

"Anyone else hear that?" he asked just before Sid and Pinky rolled by. "Sid?!"

Sid hit a twig and was knocked back as Pinky flew from his grip. Pinky almost fell into the water, but luckily he landed on floating piece of ice. The water began to spin Pinky around in circles, making him dizzy as images began to surface in his mind.

He remembered someone holding him as they fell in the water. He remembered the shock of the icy water washing over him as he spun beneath it.

Pinky let out a worried cried towards his mammoth guardian whom he saw swimming towards a cluster of rocks, but Manny could not hear him over the rushing water.

"Pinky!" Sid yelled down as he and Diego watched in worry as Pinky spun. It looked as if their baby was going to be washed away when he got caught between a twig where Crash and Eddie were. He would have waved at them if he wasn't so terrified.

"Hang on, baby! I'll save you!" Sid jumped of the ledge he was standing, but instead of landing in the water like he had planned, he hit a floating piece of ice and was knocked out. Eddie slapped a palm over his face.

"Great! Now who's gonna save him?" Pinky cried worriedly as Sid floated towards them and Crash and Eddie grabbed him by the teeth with their tails.

From his perch, Diego watched with wide eyes. Of course he wanted to help his friends and his baby, but at the same time he could feel his fear surge through him like electricity, paralyzing him as he stared at the rushing depths of the water. The water flow echoed in his ear, clouding out everything else around him. He was only brought out of this when a loud cry pierced his senses he looked up and saw that Pinky was crying, just as scared of what was happening around him. Diego clenched his eyes in determination. It didn't matter how scared he was. He had to protect Pinky! He had too. And of course there was Crash, Eddie, and Sid to save.

"I am not your prey…" he growled at the rushing water. Then his eyes snapped open. "I am **not** your _prey_!" Diego leaped into the water and started to float to the bottom, but then he remembered what Sid had told him the other day and started to kick. He broke the surface and then began to swim over the animals and the baby. Just in time too as a rough wave appeared and knocked Pinky into the water.

Pinky was terrified as he, Sid, and Crash floated downwards. He blinked a few times and briefly saw a woman he recognized to be "mama." She reached her arms out towards him, but before he could do anything, something grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt. He didn't realize who it was though until he broke the surface and was carried to a piece of dry land.

Diego patted his back as Pinky coughed a few times.

"You did it buddy," Sid said quietly to the cat. "You kicked water's butt." Diego let out a hallow laugh.

"Nothing to it," he said. "Most can do it as babies you know."

"Yeah, but not Tigers. I left that part out." Diego got a funny look and Pinky laughed, feeling a bit safer now that he was with two of his guardians.

*8*

After they had recovered, the animals and the baby decided to see if they could find Manny and Ellie. When they finally found Manny, he was pushing against the rock for some reason that Pinky could not figure out. Pinky called out to him when suddenly he vanished into the water.

"Manny!" Pinky peered around worriedly. What had just happened? Where did Manny go?

Manny reappeared again and for a moment the baby was relieved, until he heard Sid yell,

"Manny! Behind you!" Pinky looked up and saw that the two water monsters were heading toward him. Pinky cried out and tried to wiggle out of Sid's grip when Manny and the two vanished from sight. Everything went quiet and Pinky felt his little heart fill with dread. Did they get him? Was Manny now… "extinct?"

He was about to burst into tears when suddenly from the water Pinky saw two familiar trunks. He let a giggle of joy as the two mammoths swam towards them, unharmed. When they were close enough, Pinky hugged Manny as tight as he could and refused to let go for anything. Manny was so relieved to be alive that he didn't even think to ask why he and Sid were here when they should have been on the boat.

"We're going to live!" Sid cheered. Then he noticed the water rising. "We're gonna die!" Now even Pinky could see that they were surrounded by the wet substance with nothing dry in sight. He buried his face in Manny's fur, too scared to look around. Was this the end? Was Pinky and his herd going to become extinct now?

Suddenly the dam crack open and all the water around them drained out. When the water was gone, Pinky let out a joyful laugh as everyone else grinned.

They were safe.

*8*

Now that they were safe, the herd decided to go and see if the rest of the animals were okay. Everyone was really happy and relieved that the flood was over and so was Pinky.

"You know, I'm thinking about starting a swim school. Sid's Squids!" he heard Sid say. He giggled as Sid held him up and bounced him. "Guess who's gonna be my next student!"

Suddenly Sid let out a cry and hid behind Diego with Pinky. Pinky let out a curious sound as he peered around the tiger. He then let out a happy cheer when he saw the mini-sids remembering how much fun they were the other day.

"All hail Fire King!" one cried before they all bowed. Sid placed Pinky on the ground next to Diego before stepping forward.

"Uh, Hi?" he waved slowly. They all jumped up excitedly and did the same, making Pinky laugh while Diego and Sid shared a look.

"Fire king avert flood. Join us, oh great and noble fire one!" Pinky tilted his head as he always did when he didn't understand something, which seemed to be everything lately. What was a fire one? Or a fire king for that matter? He knew what fire was. Sid made it all the time with rocks. He tried to once, but it didn't work.

He looked up his green guardian to see what he would say, but it was Diego who spoke.

"Whoa! Whoa, not so fast there, okay?" He stepped towards the mini-sids. "You make a quality offer, but fire king has prior commitments. His _herd_ needs him." He walked back to Sid and Pinky. "He is the googy, sticky, stuff that holds us together. And we'd be nothing without him." Sid looked at him, face bright with happiness.

"You mean it?!" Sid then threw his arms around the shy tiger, making the other sloths copy him. Pinky decided that he quickly wanted in on this. So, he stood and held out his arms and squeaked.

"Ssss…id." Sid and Diego blinked. "Id!" They looked at him, but didn't pick him up so Pinky spoke again, though it was slightly tumbled. "Sssyld!"

Sid let out a gasp of happiness.

"You spoke!" he grabbed Pinky and spun him. "You hear that, Diego?! He spoke! I told you he could!" Pinky didn't understand why Sid was so happy, but he enjoyed the spinning. Sid turned to Manny and Ellie. "Manny! Ellie! He spoke! Our baby spoke!"

"You're kidding!" Ellie said.

"No, no! He can! See? Pinky, do it again! Show aunt Ellie!" Pinky didn't see what was so exciting, however he had learned a while ago that simple things gave his guardians pleasure, so he spoke again. Ellie gasped happily as Manny blinked in surprise.

"Sid, that's great! Isn't it, Manny?"

"Yeah," Manny agreed, still surprised. "It is!" He expected to see Rhinos fly any minute now. He never thought he'd see a human talk, even his little guy.

A second later they heard a low rumble. For a moment, Pinky was frighten that the water would come back so he clung tightly to Manny. However he soon saw that the rumbling didn't come from the water, but this time from a heard of Mannys and Ellies, they were different colors some, but they were Mannys and Ellies all the same.

"We're not the last ones anymore!" Ellie cheered.

"Yeah…" When Manny spoke it was in a disappointed tone and Pinky didn't know why. Ellie started follow the rest of the mammoths, but stopped when Manny didn't follow.

"You're not coming?"

"You… want to go with them?" Ellie walked up close.

"Well, I **am** a mammoth," she said. "I should probably be with a _mammoth._ Don't ya think?_" _Pink swore she was trying to say something, but he had decided to stop trying to figure out what these adults were saying. It hurt his head too much.

"Yeah, unless…" Manny trailed off and both Pinky and Ellie looked at him expectantly.

"Unless…?"

"Unless, I, um… I just wanna say… I need to tell you…" the mammoths stared at each other for the longest time and Pinky was impatient. He even let a wail to tell him so. Manny sighed.

"I hope you find everything you're looking for." He finally said to the shemoth. Ellie looked down cast when he said that.

"You too." She said. She patted Pinky's head affectionately. "You look after him okay, Pinky?"

Then to Pinky's confusion she and her brothers started to walk away. He whined slightly as he reached after them, not just because he didn't want them to go, but because they were walking in the direction of the exploding ground. Maybe they would go around.

Sid and Diego walked up to them.

"Manny," Sid said, as he gently took the baby. "You've come a long way since we met and I'll take full credit for that-" Pinky squealed. "Okay, okay! Sixty-percent. But you need to let go of the past so you can have a future." Manny looked at them tearfully, then after Ellie, before at Pinky.

"What about…" Diego stepped forward.

"We got him," he assured the mammoth. "Go after her."

"It's okay." Sid urged. Pinky didn't understand. Were they going after Ellie? Sid touched Manny's tusk and Pinky playfully hung from it. "We'll always be here." Manny smiled.

"I'll keep in touch." He promised.

"Yeah, yeah. You're a good friend. Point made, now go on." Diego urged, bashfully. Manny smiled then grabbed Pinky and hugged him tightly.

"I'll never forget you." He whispered. Then he handed him back to Sid and with one last look walked away.

"Our Manny's growing up." Sid whispered. Pinky reached after him with a sad squeal, but stopped when he saw Manny and Ellie were together. He didn't understand much (or anything for that matter) but seeing Manny with Ellie made him realize that was where he belonged. With Ellie. So, choking back his cries for the first time, Pinky turned away and buried his face in Sid's filthy neck.

"Shh! It's okay. We'll be okay little guy." Sid said softly as he and Diego turned away. "I guess it's just us now. You, me, and our little baby knocking about in the wild, woo-hoo!"

"I hardly think we'll be 'knocking about.'" Diego said, motioning to Pinky, whom Sid set down at his fussing so he could toddle beside them.

"Oh, come on! We can still have fun!"

"Ugh! Fine. But I'm not going to carry you. I still have my pride you know."

"Aw, c'mon! For old times' sake?"

"I'll carry him!" Pinky turned and let out a squeal of Joy when he saw Manny, with Sid on his back, and Ellie, Crash, and Eddie beside him.

"But your herd's leaving." Diego told him. Manny smiled.

"We are now." Laughing happily, Pinky trotted up to Ellie who grabbed him and bounced him in the air before hugging him tightly.

"Ooh! We could never leave you, precious!" she said. Pink laughed happily. He had his family, which had now grown bigger.

And he couldn't be happier.

*8*

Yeah, no excuse why this is so late. Just school plus temporary loss of interest. I apologize and I'm not going to lie, it may take a bit for the next chapter, but look at it this way; We're moving on to the third movie now! And since Pinky will be older, we'll be focusing on him more.


	8. note

Hi, this is a note to all my readers;

I'm going to have to take a break for a bit. I just have too much on my plate with college, debts, and the other joys of adulthood. So now, I need to get my life in order.

I want one thing to be clear though; I WILL be finishing this story. I just need time to write out all the chapters and such after I get my life on track. I also want to rewrite a few things and fix a few grammar problems. So, expect a few changes for this story when it's reposted.

I apologize for the inconvenience and hope you understand.


End file.
